Keeper of Time
by 1in100Authors
Summary: Born from the greed of her father, a clear-sighted mortal who had an affair with Aphrodite and never stopped lusting after her, Sage Pierce's life is anything but easy. Her father had made a deal with Kronos and was promised the affection of Aphrodite if she was handed over to him... Full summary inside. SYOC. Percabeth later on. 2nd Place for Best AU in the Demigod Awards.
1. Introduction - Pt 1

**Full Summary: Born from the greed of her father, a clear-sighted mortal who had an affair with Aphrodite and never stopped lusting after her, Sage Pierce's life is anything but easy. Her father had made a deal with Kronos and was promised the everlasting affections of Aphrodite if she, Sage, was handed over to the Titan Lord. After a long four years of pain and suffering, Sage chooses to stick back in the shadows and for some reason, new campers keep showing up with her... even though she never goes to camp. And what does her past have to do with all this? Fate does not seem to be working in her favor.**

**Please note: This does contain a few curses. Not too many, but it contains a few scattered around. There will be intense emotions and the romance will be very light, a few kisses here or there but not too many to take away from the plot. The OC is not paired with anyone because I am not sure if I want to pair her up with someone. As the story progresses, I may ask for suggestions.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson series.**

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><p>"Promise me," the man said, a slightly crazed look in his eye. "Promise me that Aphrodite will be forever mine, and this... <em>thing<em> is yours."

He gestured to the blank space in the distance, and suddenly an image of a girl in a pink dress happily chasing butterflies on a field appeared. The girl giggled and clapped when one landed on her nose and held out her arm as it flew away, startled. She frowned slightly before focusing on another butterfly, twirling around before plopping down on her behind dramatically and proceeding to giggle once more.

"I am the mighty _Kronos._ What use could I make of this child?" a booming voice asked. "She can do nothing more but laugh like an idiot and waste my time."

The look in the man's eye turned panicked, and he steps forward. "But... but she has the ability of charm speak, oh great one! Not many have such a gift! This girl... she could be... she could be the determining factor between success and failure!"

"I... see. Very well. A goddess is a large price, however.. I suppose a mortal like yourself does not have much to offer. If you are wrong, I will take your life. _Leave now._"

The man woke up from his dream.

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><p>"Mortals," Kronos spat in disgust. "Idiots, all of them."<p>

He smirked. It worked in his favor this time, and that was all Kronos cared about. She would definitely be the turning point in the war.

Yes, things were looking up...

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><p>"Luke Castellan," she said softly as he walked through the border as she had requested. "I... I understand."<p>

The look in her eye begged him to leave while he still could, before she started to charm speak him. It pleaded with him to turn around and never look back, because he was sure to regret this in the end. But it was per Kronos's orders, and her father was at risk...

It had been only weeks ago when Kronos had threatened to kill her father, explaining that he had tried to take her and escape but failed to do so. She was valuable, Kronos had told her, and all she had to do was do her best to convince as many demigods as possible to join him. If she didn't do her very best work, then she would be punished. Sage had never _met _her father, but she believed Kronos was cruel enough to do what he claimed to have done.

...but she hated having to do this to an innocent boy who had just gone through what he did. She hated using it to manipulate him into believing that he would be doing the right thing. She hated her mother for cursing her with charm speak. But most of all, Sage hated _herself _for being selfish and thinking about a father she never even met before a fallen hero who just needed a friend. Gods know he would never find a friend in Kronos.

Regardless, Sage was a selfish person. And so she continued.

"I understand losing people. I understand being ignored by your godly parent," Sage empathized. "I get it. I know desperately wanting revenge on those who have wronged you or those you love just for their own amusement. I know how much it hurts. It's like losing a part of yourself. Maybe revenge will help you heal."

She laughed bitterly. "Listen to me, being so bitter... and I'm a daughter of Aphrodite! And the reason I know is not because my excuse-for-a-mother claimed me. She had given me the gift of charm speak, as if compensation for being ignored for the rest of my life. But all of it ends now. Join Kronos and myself, and we will get revenge. We will be rewarded because Kronos rewards those who stand up for themselves."

Her voice softened, and she began lacing magic within her words. "We are kindred spirits, Luke. Join us, in the name of the demigods who are forgotten and ignored. Join us... in the name of justice."

Sage hated herself even more now. A bitterness the likes of which she had never felt before rose up inside of her and stirred slowly, becoming more and more prominent by the minute. She would have to do something about, lest it consume her entirely.

For once, her charm speak would have made no difference... because she believed in every word she said.

Unbeknownst to her, it would be this bitterness to bring Olympus down to its knees...

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><p>Sage watched from a distance as Luke attacked dummies relentlessly, her usually emotionless face tear-streaked.<p>

He had gone through so much, and it was all because of _her._ _She _had tormented him, and she covered it up by comforting him whenever he was scared, doubtful or sad. Sage was disgusted with herself. When had she become so manipulative and uncaring? It used to be for her dad. But now, it was so she didn't feel guilty.

She really was a horrible person...

...her mother would be proud.

And that hurt more than anything else in the world, because a small, secret part of her wanted her mother to be proud of her. But not for the wrong reasons. Was that what she was? A monster? A heartless, cold-blooded monster, just like her mother? That wasn't what she wanted to be.

The worst part was that Luke had no idea what he really signed up for. She knew, but she was afraid to tell him.

Maybe one day she would be brave enough to face the consequences of her actions.

Maybe.

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><p>She cried herself to sleep that night.<p>

"Promise me," the man said, a slightly crazed look in his eye. "Promise me that Aphrodite will be forever mine, and this... _thing_ is yours."

He gestured to the blank space in the distance, and suddenly an image of a girl in a pink dress happily chasing butterflies on a field appeared. The girl giggled and clapped when one landed on her nose and held out her arm as it flew away, startled. She frowned slightly before focusing on another butterfly, twirling around before plopping down on her behind dramatically and proceeding to giggle once more.

The girl's fierce silver eyes and wavy blue-black hair seemed stunningly familiar, and the realization hits her like a ton of bricks.

Sage gasped. "Is that... me?"

"I am the mighty _Kronos._ What use could I make of this child?" a booming voice asked. "She can do nothing more but laugh like an idiot and waste my time."

The look in the man's eye turned panicked, and he steps forward, giving Sage a better look at him. "But... but she has the ability of charm speak, oh great one! Not many have such a gift! This girl... she could be... she could be the determining factor between success and failure!"

_Silver eyes and blue-black hair._

No.

No, no, no, no, no.

She knows exactly what it implies and the pain is worse than being punched in the gut. She feels like her life has been sucked out of her and the true meaning behind all of this finally shows itself.

All this pain, all this suffering... for nothing. _Nothing._ Not for a... a _jerk_ like him. It wasn't worth it. _He _wasn't worth it. _None_ of it was worth it.

Tears stain her face as she remembers a broken Luke after losing Thalia and a heartbroken Percy after seeing a blonde girl, said to be Annabeth Chase fell off a cliff with the manticore. None of them deserved it, and revenge on the gods was worth nothing if the people they were fighting for were hurt in the process. Sobs wracked her body and she lets herself crumble for the very first time, because the fourteen-year-old knows that if she doesn't, it'll be proof that yes, she has become a monster and as selfish as it is, she doesn't want to be a monster.

"I'm sorry. Percy, Annabeth, _Luke_... Gods, I'm sorry. This is _all my fault_! _All_ my _freaking fault_! It's all my fault..." Sage sobbed.

If she hadn't been such an idiot and just ignored his lies, none of them would be suffering. Had she not been so _gullible_...

"I... see. Very well. A goddess is a large price, however.. I suppose a mortal like yourself does not have much to offer. If you are wrong, I will take your life. _Leave now._"

The dream faded as quickly as it came, but the damage had been done.

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><p>Sage woke up with a start, knowing that the day ahead of her was the day that she finally faced her fears and told Luke the truth in hopes that he would run away. It was the day she finally righted her wrongs.<p>

A sinking feeling in her gut also told her that the day ahead of her would be her last.

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><p><strong>This is introduction part 1, as in there is going to be a part 2. I hope you do like the sound of it. If not, that's okay because this was a little bit rushed and part 2 will be better developed as well as longer (probably).<strong>

**Please review!**

**Don't be afraid to give me constructive criticism, but please don't go like 'this is terrible! Take it down lolz being mean is fun!' or something like that. Seeing people write run-on sentences gives me headaches. So please don't. :P**

**Until next time,**

**-1in100Authors**


	2. Introduction - Pt 2

**Well, here is the second installment of 'The Keeper of Time'! This second half of the introduction is going to flip back and forth between feelings of guilt and anger. Be prepared for a chapter full of feelings. **

**I guess I feel like not writing so much romance and focus on people who are not as fortunate as we are and do not get the choice to build their own future but thrive to do so anyway.**

**Playlist for this chapter (to get into the mood): Clean by Taylor Swift, Titanium by David Guetta**

**Standard disclaimer is applied. I also do not own any of the songs mentioned above... as clarified above.**

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><p>"Luke," Sage called, approaching the training arena.<p>

He turned around to face her, sweating and out of breath from his training session. "Yeah, what?"

"Have you..." she took a deep breath. "Have you heard of... the River Styx?"

"Is this a joke?" Luke asked. "Because I've got some work to do if I wanna kick Jackson's butt."

"Luke," Sage tried. "This is important. How much do you know about the story of Achilles?"

He answered easily. "If you're talking about Achilles's Heel, then yes, I know the story completely."

"Good," she breathed. "In order to rise, Kronos needs a host... a host that has the ability to channel all his power. He also wants to be invulnerable to ensure that he succeeds. Luke, he wants..."

Sage choked up a bit, but forced the feeling down to continue her speech. "He wants you to take a dip in the River Styx and become his host."

Luke tensed slightly, and had she not known him so well she wouldn't have noticed.

He tried to play it cool. "...And? Why are you telling me this? To prove that I'm not loyal?"

She fell to her knees and had to force down a sob.

Did he not understand how tough this was for her? This was absolute torture. Being alive, just _breathing_ made herself drown further into the depths of a bottomless sea. Just knowing that this was all her fault for being so stupid and selfish for entirely wrong reasons... it had begun killing her, however slowly. It was like she could feel nothing but pain and anger. Anger at her father, anger at Kronos, anger at herself. Everything else faded into the distance.

Sage hadn't noticed that tears had begun streaming down her face and how her fists had been clenched tightly enough to draw blood. She also didn't notice how Luke had crouched down and started wiping her tears away with a tissue paper.

"Hey," he said. "I didn't mean it like that. I don't doubt that you had good intentions, it's just... people are always wondering where my true loyalties lie. They act like I'm going to stab them in the back and return to my fam- camp."

That was like another blow to her already torn heart and she had to fight back more tears.

Suddenly she remembered exactly why she was doing this. It wasn't for her anymore. She was _not _going to be selfish anymore. This was for Luke's happiness and if he hated her forever for it, then so be it. Sage met his eyes determinedly. "Luke, there's more to it then you realize."

"Being a host to a divine being is having to channel power. You will become powerful, yes, but the power will never benefit you. It'll be like living someone else's life, able to see everything but unable to do anything about it. Hosting the Titan Lord wouldn't just be lending your body as a host until the fight's over... it would be giving him full control of yourself and allowing him to keep it forever. You're going to be a stepping stone, Luke," she explained. "But I don't want this fate for you. You're a good person, Luke. You don't deserve a tragedy. You don't deserve the tragedy... the tragedy that I cursed you with. This is my fault. This is _all my fault_ and you shouldn't have to do all this!"

"What?" Luke asked, bewildered. "How can this be your fault? You've been nothing but nice to me."

Sage wanted to cry, but she held back. Her voice wavered. "Don't make this harder than it already is."

She took a second to calm down.

"A few years back my father, a clear-sighted mortal, made a deal with Kronos. He offered me in return for Aphrodite's eternal fancy. I was put under a spell that somehow kept me asleep until I was ten, and I was forced to charm-speak demigods into coming to his side. Kronos had told me that my father tried to help me escape when he kidnapped me, but he caught him and locked him away. He told me that the only way I could ever see my father was after I charmed demigods over to his side for him. I was young and foolish. I didn't doubt at all that Kronos was cruel and was capable of doing those nasty things, so I followed his instructions."

"But by the time I was twelve, I was extremely bitter and angry with my mother," she continued. "I had silently prayed to her day and night, asking for guidance. She never answered any single one of my prayers. So when I was sent to recruit you, every word I said was what I thought to be true. The charm-speak wasn't even necessary. I knew that you didn't deserve this, so I planned on telling you yesterday but I was afraid of your reaction. And then... then I had a dream. I found out the truth and I realized that doing this in the name of our fellow demigods did nothing if we ended up hurting them instead. It just wasn't worth it."

Luke gazed at me silently before speaking quietly. "So why did you tell me now, if you were afraid of my reaction?"

"It was always about my father and myself. There was a time when that was all that mattered," she answered. "But times have changed. It's no longer about my father and I'm done making it about myself. It no longer matters what happens to me. All I care about is making sure you take heed of my advice."

"What advice?"

"Run away. You don't have to sit there and take it. Find the right time, and make a run for it. Find the person who will most likely believe you and run away with them. Don't forget your past, but don't let it ruin your future. And if you know what's good for you... you'll forget about me," Sage finished.

"Run away?"

"Yes."

"With who?"

"My best guess would be Thalia or Annabeth. I'm not sure if I got the names right."

"Thalia's a Huntress of Artemis now."

"And what about Annabeth?" Sage studied his face carefully.

"Annabeth... she has someone else now. Someone who won't leave her," he added rather bitterly.

It still pains her, knowing that this heartbreak and fall-out was all because of her. But it was nice to know that the girl still had friends, people to rely on.

Maybe, Sage hoped, this Annabeth girl earned more than she lost.

"Doesn't matter. Just... just try." She had to _try_, though.

Maybe she created some good... even in these terrible circumstances. And maybe telling Luke had saved him. Maybe she wasn't such a monster after all. Maybe she could still redeem herself. Maybe she still had hope. Maybe...

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><p>Kronos had found out.<p>

He had found out about her slip up, and she was now forced to poison knives for him before charm-speaking demigods into stabbing themselves with them... right in front of her.

Kronos made her sick. Everything about him was terrible and he either had no heart or it had been frozen when he was cast into Tartarus.

She couldn't take it anymore. It was time for her to leave.

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><p>It turned out that Kronos didn't even care when she had left, presumably because she had already done her job and the damage on both her and other demigods had already been done.<p>

He had already scarred her, and that was all he needed.

What a sick, sick being.

In a moment of unbridled fury and bitterness, she decided to make sure Kronos never got away with his plans. She would see to his demise and he would know that it was because of _her _that he was brought down to his knees, at her mercy.

"I, Sage Pierce, curse Kronos to die at the hands of a previously cursed knife the moment before he is able to succeed in his revenge against the gods."

It was bitter, sick humor, but she wanted to watch as everything went his way before all of it was taken away straight before success.

She slapped herself. She was bitter, yes, but she had no right to think like that. But the damage was done, and Sage found that she didn't really care. After all, she had some work to do...

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><p><strong>So Fate takes its course! The real story will begin next chapter. What'd you think of this? It's definitely much more... lengthy.<strong>

**My next update won't come around too quickly, as I have to attend to school. It'll come in maybe a few days. Up to a week from now.**

**-1in100Authors**


	3. Chapter 1

**It's been a while, huh? I usually like to update quickly, but I took a lot of extra time to do research, homework and studying - a lot of studying - for school. I work rapidly in normal circumstances, but there was a situation at school that I needed to think about and I took a lot of time to reflect upon my decisions after acquiring a new book that I will omit from this note (unless someone PMs me or something like that to find out - I have an entire list of amazing 'Must Read' books).**

**Now, I realize that some of my introduction seemed a little bit rushed; that's because it ****_was_**** a little bit rushed and I plan on taking some time to revise it and then have send this update because I'm aware that whenever I do any editing, it seems as though it's a new chapter and people usually feel let down when they realize that the 'update' was only some extra revision. Since it's been a while since I last updated, I'll post a recap but I suggest that you completely re-read the previous chapter (which is what I usually do).**

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><p><em>Recap from Introduction:<em>

_It still pains her, knowing that this heartbreak and fall-out was all because of her. But it was nice to know that the girl still had friends, people to rely on._

_Maybe, Sage hoped, this Annabeth girl earned more than she lost._

_"Doesn't matter. Just... just try."_

_Maybe she created some good... even in these terrible circumstances. And maybe telling Luke had saved him. Maybe she wasn't such a monster after all. Maybe she could still redeem herself. Maybe she still had hope. Maybe..._

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><p><em>Kronos had found out.<em>

_He had found out about her slip up, and she was now forced to poison knives for him before charm-speaking demigods into stabbing themselves with them... right in front of her._

_Kronos made her sick. Everything about him was terrible and he either had no heart or it had been frozen when he was cast into Tartarus._

_She couldn't take it anymore. It was time for her to leave._

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><p><em>It turned out that Kronos didn't even care when she had left, presumably because she had already done her job and the damage on both her and other demigods had already been done.<em>

_He had already scarred her, and that was all he needed. _

_What a sick, sick being._

_In a moment of unbridled fury and bitterness, she decided to make sure Kronos never got away with his plans. She would see to his demise and he would know that it was because of her that he was brought down to his knees, at her mercy._

_"I, Sage Pierce, curse Kronos to die at the hands of a previously cursed knife the moment before he is able to succeed in his revenge against the gods."_

_It was bitter, sick humor, but she wanted to watch as everything went his way before all of it was taken away straight before success._

_She slapped herself. She was bitter, yes, but she had no right to think like that. But the damage was done, and Sage found that she didn't really care._

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><p><strong>Note: SYOC (Author's note after chapter)<strong>

**Chapter 1: I Blow off Some Steam**

_**SAGE PIERCE**_

Some people listen to music at a dangerously high volume to calm themselves down. Other people go for a long jog for hours in order to tire themselves out. Most people will run to their fridge, remind themselves to be health-conscious, and garble down a bunch of junk food anyway.

But Sage was a demigod who did barely anything but train with Luke in the sword-fighting arena and charm speak people into doing her bidding - albeit reluctantly and under blackmail - so she was far more destructive. Instead of being a nice little servant and charm speaking 'enemies' and having them change sides, (though she was no longer a prisoner of the Lord of Time) she began getting _real _enemies to kill themselves; if they were good enough, she would fight them herself. That usually wasn't the case - she may have been a daughter of Aphrodite, but she was quick to learn that love no longer existed and that only lust was left in its place, and so she was determined to do something that didn't completely strip her of her dignity. Who knew that she had a natural talent for combat?

She had been thrilled when she found out that her resemblance to her mother ended at her good looks - and even that was barely noticeable, considering any demigod could have good looks. Aphrodite had also passed on her charm-speak to Sage, but that was convenient and didn't exactly count as a burden. She had also found that she could speak fluent French, which was pretty cool.

She figured that if she did have to go to Camp some day, she would proclaim herself either a daughter of Hermes (stealing was easy for those who knew how to use charm-speak). Plus, Kronos had taught her to manipulate the Mist, which came in handy.

But that was a thought for another time. At the current moment, she was fighting a Cyclops that had wandered away from the Titan Lord's base.

Normally she would do a bunch of slashing with her Celestial bronze sword like most Greek heroes did, but she wanted to confuse the monster and decided to try a more Roman form of fighting that she had been taught by a legionnaire when she was in San Francisco. Unfortunately, the legionnaire had died fighting a gorgon (which she ended up killing).

_Parry, thrust, dodge, duck._

Now all she had to do was wait for an opening.

Almost...

She slashed at the Cyclops and made a large cut on its arm before she had to dodge a blow to the left side of her face.

Just a little longer...

She went to stab at the Cyclops, but it was able to dodge and landed a punch to her jaw. Gritting her teeth, she refocused and realized that the monster's chest was unprotected.

THERE!

She stabbed the Cyclops in the chest and it dissolved into golden dust. Walking to a nearby lake, she assessed her jaw and deemed it unnecessary to use her stash of stolen ambrosia. Although it was bruised pretty badly, Sage had gone through worse without any medical treatment. This was like a paper cut in comparison.

This had been routine for the past fifteen weeks. She would kill any stray portions of Kronos's army to help the other demigods as much as possible without actually having to go to Camp Half-Blood. It wouldn't do to somehow be exposed as a past traitor, so she settled on helping behind the scenes. Of course, it'd be tough to find out that it had been her to kill all those demigods and monsters that went outside a five mile radius away from the Titan Lord's base, because outside, anything could happen. In order to keep it up, she would sometimes allow the monsters to get back to their base without confrontations.

Based on what she had seen of Kronos's army, she had picked off around 1/10 already. Of course, she figured that he had Titan allies, but she also knew that with the amount of monsters he used to have in his army... Well, without her interference, Olympus had no chance. She had done them a huge favor, though it was probably her fault that Kronos was able to do this much so quickly. She owed this to Olympus.

_No,_ she disagreed. _I owe this to my fellow demigods. The gods had this coming. I owe _them _nothing._

Sage knew that, as bitter as it may seem, she was right. The gods had denied their children for far too long. From what she had heard from Luke, Thalia had been turned into a tree in her last stand, defending him and Annabeth. Zeus wouldn't kill the monsters, but he would turn his daughter into a pine tree. No, he couldn't save her. He had to wait until the last moment to get off his lazy butt and do something. Percy had only been claimed because his father was desperate and in need of someone to prove him innocent. The only member of the Big Three who hadn't done something like that was Hades, which is why she respected him.

Sage didn't respect many of the Olympians. Zeus was an arrogant idiot who would take out Hades and Hestia from the Olympian Council, replacing them with his children as to ensure his power over the Council; Poseidon slept with everything that lived, Ares was also a stuck-up idiot... Apollo was full of himself and shamelessly flirted with every single girl he passed by, Hera also had this odd superiority complex, just like Athena multiplied by 100. Athena deserved her sense of superiority; knowledge is something to be proud of. Being the wisdom goddess... well, that was _definitely_ something to be proud of. In fact, most of the gods' problems were that they had enormous egos.

She respected Hades for dealing with his brothers' stupidity without going insane as well as having to watch people die. Especially when it was his children. That could never be easy.

Sage respected Hestia, who she always saw as the mother that made all people's trouble go away; like a mother's warm embrace... the embrace that she never knew, never experienced as a child. Funny, how the goddess of love was always last to offer it.

She also respected Athena, who was able to keep her pride in (most of the time) and led people the correct way. She was like the teacher who urged you to improve, the one who knew that tough experiences were the key to understanding and appreciating the golden days.

She held Artemis in extremely high esteem, being the goddess who encouraged confidence in girls and showed them that they were important and made them into powerful warriors. Artemis was like the embodiment of feminism.

While Sage disliked many of the gods, she absolutely _loathed_ Aphrodite and Dionysus. He was made a god and just completely forgot what it meant to be human, deciding that all demigods were below him even though he used to be one himself. Although, she could be wrong about him. He could be putting up an act. The one person she _was_ sure about, however, was her mother. Her mother was the most superficial thing she knew. All of her children looked up to her, doing everything they could to impress her, even going as far as to do some stupid 'rite of passage' that she wouldn't be bothered to even watch someone else do. Her children thought that it was about designer dresses, making people fall in love with them and breaking hearts... Wasn't that what the myths of Aphrodite showed them? They'd never know better, because they'd never met their mother. Aphrodite could say nothing about how 'love wasn't about that' and that she was disappointed, because she had never taught them what love really was.

The goddess of love would always be the last to spread love, even though she would break it off when she found real love.

Isn't that what all gods do? Get jealous because someone has something better than them and screw it up for that someone? Whenever there was a good couple who Sage would have approved of, Aphrodite got jealous and decided to break it apart, calling it one of her 'masterpieces'. She'd done it so many times that maybe she believed it herself, but she could never fool Sage. Love was _not _about breaking hearts, beauty not about designer dresses and false smiles...

Was it so hard to see that? Why was it so tough to see past the superficial ways of the world? Why was it so hard to realize that there was more in the world?

Why did it take a decade of suffering to learn the truth of the world? Sage really wanted to know.

She realized she was sweating and looked up, finally noticing her sword in her hand and fully registering the splatters of golden ichor all around her. Sage's eyes widened. How did she get here? Just a few minutes ago, she had been by the lake. Now, she was around a mile away and if she had to guess, had slaughtered around twenty monsters.

Her form went rigid when she heard the snarls behind her. Sage suddenly took notice of the gashes on her arms - presumably from the fights she was unaware of - and she started feeling a little bit light-headed.

She was unaware of the beast attacking her from behind as the world dissolved into a black nothingness.

* * *

><p>Sage opened her eyes, and, despite her body's violent protesting, sat up to get a better look of her surroundings.<p>

"You're awake?" a voice asked incredulously. "No way. You lost so much blood, and holy Zeus, how many monsters did you kill before you passed out?"

She groaned. Great. Must be an idiot son of Athena, from all the questions he was asking.

Sage turned to look at him. The boy looked to be around twelve years old. He didn't _look_ like a son of Athena. "Who are you?"

"I'm Nico," he replied. "But that's not important. Who are _you_? And how the Hades did you kill so many monsters? There were _twenty-four_ of them."

She cocked an eyebrow. "How'd you know how many there were?"

"Son of Hades." He gestured to himself. "Now stop avoiding the question. _Who are you?"_

Sage inwardly cursed. He figured her out.

"I'm..." she debated lying to him. He'd helped her, guessing from her bandaged arms, so she figured he at least deserved the truth. "I'm Sage. Sage Pierce."

"Do you know who your godly parent is? I mean, I just figured since you have a Celestial bronze sword and slaughtered twenty-four monsters with it in less than 10 minutes... well, yeah." Nico shifted awkwardly.

"Aphrodite," Sage told him. "Wouldn't be my first choice, but..."

He laughed, and she decided that he had a nice laugh. "Not the biggest fan of the love goddess, are you?"

Nico seemed much more relaxed now. He sat down next to where she was on the grass.

"That's an understatement," Sage replied. "But I suppose you get the point."

He chuckled. "If it makes you feel any better, I thought you were a daughter of Athena at first, judging from your grey eyes and fighting prowess. I'd never guess a daughter of Aphrodite. You look like you could care less about love."

"They're silver," Sage corrected. "And you're wrong. It's not that I don't care for it, I just don't believe in it."

Nico looked at her questioningly, and she shook her head. There were no words to describe it.

She settled for something vague. "I've gone through some seriously traumatic experiences."

"Try me," Nico snorted. "I've had my fair share of traumatic experiences. What could be worse than being born like decades ago, watching your mother be struck down by lightning before having your memories wiped by your own father and getting trapped in time at a hotel and losing your sister only weeks after you get out? Not to mention doing a bunch of bad stuff while being lost in grief and blaming your one real friend for it? The one friend who isn't afraid of you, too."

"I'm not afraid of you," Sage supplied helpfully.

He cocked an eyebrow. "Watch this."

Suddenly, the earth rumbled and skeletons popped out, glaring at her. Her jaw was on the floor, awestruck.

"So?" It looked like he expected her to back away in terror or run away from him immediately.

But Sage had seen so much bloodshed, felt so much guilt and watched so many people suffer that she wasn't afraid at all. In fact, she wouldn't have been scared even if she hadn't been through all of that. She didn't judge people for their abilities. She judged people by their intentions, motivations and by the goodness of their heart. This meant nothing. This was something he had inherited from his father, and he shouldn't be judged because of that.

In fact, she thought it was incredibly cool.

"That..." she started. "Is so incredibly _awesome_."

Sage tried to get up and approach the skeletons, but her body protested.

Nico saw this and chuckled.

She glared at him before getting an idea. "Summon the skeletons later on. They'll serve as good opponents for training."

"Hmm," he pondered. "I don't know how I didn't think of that. That _is _a good idea."

Then he smirked, and Sage knew she was in trouble.

"Did you really think you could get away with that?" Nico asked.

She feigned innocence. "Get away with what?"

"You keep dodging my questions. Why don't you believe in love?"

She debated lying to him, knowing that she would lose her only friend if she told the truth.

"And don't think about lying."

Sage muttered under her breath. He'd only known her for around an hour, and he already knew her so well. He was rather perceptive. That, or she was just predictable.

"If I tell you, swear on the Styx that you will allow me to explain _completely," s_he decided.

"Alright," he agreed. "I swear on the River Styx to allow you to explain your story completely."

Thunder rumbled up in the sky.

So she did. Sage told him about her time as a servant to Kronos and how he had tricked her, she explained the dream she had when she finally figured out the truth; she told him about the charm speaking and training with Luke, how she had killed more than 1/10 of Kronos's army because she was angry, and she told him about the curse she put on Kronos. Sage explained her hatred towards the gods and told him that she was doing this only for her fellow demigods. She told him about how she was forced to put poison on Kronos's blades and charm-speak demigods into killing themselves as punishment for telling Luke the truth and advising him to run as well as the plans Kronos had for Luke.

Needless to say, Nico was speechless for a long time.

"Can you say something?" she asked. "You know, so I don't feel like complete and utter crap?"

"I was thinking about taking you to _Camp_, but I guess that's out of the question," Nico finally said.

She rolled her eyes. "Ya think?"

After a few seconds, she spoke again. "So... what do you think?"

Nico seemed to be deep in thought. "I think that your acts were justified. You were a kid, you had no parental guidance and you were scared, which is a terrible combination. Except... the gods won't see it that way. That's the only problem."

Sage let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

"I guess we're even," he mused.

She looked at him with a confused expression on her face. "What?"

"We both had equally screwed-up childhoods," Nico replied easily, before nodding. "You've earned my respect."

"Oh." Suddenly, she was chuckling.

"What?" Nico furrowed his eyebrows at her.

"I knew Persephone resented Hades for kidnapping her all those millenniums ago, but I didn't think her hatred went _that_ far," she replied, pointing at a now-wilted flower that Nico had been touching subconsciously.

He glared at her in response, before giving a resigned sigh and laughing quietly along.

Then she realized something. "You don't really like Camp, do you?"

"Why do you ask?"

"It's just the way you said it," Sage said. "You sounded like you resented it."

"I don't really belong there," Nico admitted. "I'm usually down in the Underworld."

She wagged her eyebrows. "Plotting revenge on the plants because they're too _lively_?"

Sage started laughing at Nico's expense.

"No!" Nico scowled. "What? _No!_"

"I'm just joking," Sage assured after calming down. She realized that she was feeling much better. There was something about Nico that made her feel relaxed. She'd never felt like that before; she was always on her guard.

Sage also noticed that she was almost completely healed. Perhaps he was a son of the death god, but he made her feel more _alive. _Was this what friendship felt like? If it was, she never wanted to live without it again. It felt nice, having someone as a friend; someone who you could tell everything to without feeling like you ruined their life and the entire thing was based on a lie.

"None of us want to be at Camp, but we both want to help in the war effort against the Titans, right?" she asked him.

He hesitated. "Yeah. I suppose."

Sage gazed at him sharply. "Not for the gods. It's for the demigods."

"I know."

Suddenly, she understood. In fact, she had understood all along. The demigods probably treated him like someone who was unworthy of their attention. They were just afraid that he would turn against them because he was a child of Hades. Sage suddenly felt extremely protective of Nico, like a sister would feel for her younger brother.

"Your heritage means nothing," she told him, looking straight into his eyes. "You don't have to do it for the other demigods. Do it for those who are worth it, Nico. Do it because the Titans are even worse than the gods. Trust me, I'd know."

She changed her mind. "Actually, I'm not going to force you into doing it. I'm your friend now and friends don't guilt each other into doing things that they don't believe in."

"You're... my friend?" Nico asked cautiously. "How do I know that I can trust you?"

"I swear it on the Styx," she affirmed.

Thunder rumbled up in the air, and Sage was left untouched.

Nico considered it. "I'll do it anyway. For you."

Sage smiled. "Let's go demigod/monster hunting, then."

* * *

><p><strong>Long, I know. Please give me your feedback! Next chapter will be out by next week.<strong>

**ALSO: I am doing a SYOC (Submit your own character) thing for the next chapter and next. My requirements are the following:**

**1) First and last name**

**2) Godly parent - if it is a child of the Big Three, I am allowed to make fun of them on a large scale. Remember that Sage hates most of the Big Three. No sons or daughters of virgin goddesses except for Athena. If you decide to make a character who is Mary Sue-like, I will make major changes in the character or maybe reject it. **

**3) Personality. If someone is bitter, provide an explanation as to why. Nobody is a super hero and it is important to give people flaws and insecurities in order to give them the room to grow as the story progresses. Be realistic and use past examples of heroes from a certain parent to find a pattern and establish that part of a personality. (i.e Zeus's sons usually turn out to be very arrogant)**

**4) Weapon of choice - Celestial bronze, Imperial gold, Stygian iron sword... Daggers, spears etc.**

**5) Back story - in the end, the characters who are put up in the story are mine to choose, and choose I will. Make an interesting back story. Something that will catch my eye and blend in seamlessly with the story line. Do not try and come up with a romantic partner for Sage, as I have plans for her. Did you know that she is my character in 'New Demigods' by Perce123?**

**6) Relationships - This isn't for romantic partners. What are your character's relationships with other people? Does he/she like the Ares campers? Does he/she like the Aphrodite cabin? *Exception: crushes on Sage are allowed. This is only because my friend wants some drama and won't leave me alone. Tell her she wins.**

**~1in100Authors**


	4. Chapter 2

**So I haven't received many OC requests yet, but I'll just make my own for the time being. My offer still stands, though. I will be accepting around 5 OCs, one of which will be a main character - if they are good enough. ****My requirements are the following:**

**1) First and last name**

**2) Godly parent - if it is a child of the Big Three, I am allowed to make fun of them on a large scale. Remember that Sage hates most of the Big Three. No sons or daughters of virgin goddesses except for Athena. If you decide to make a character who is Mary Sue-like, I will make major changes in the character or maybe reject it.**

**3) Personality. If someone is bitter, provide an explanation as to why. Nobody is a super hero and it is important to give people flaws and insecurities in order to give them the room to grow as the story progresses. Be realistic and use past examples of heroes from a certain parent to find a pattern and establish that part of a personality. (i.e Zeus's sons usually turn out to be very arrogant)**

**4) Weapon of choice - Celestial bronze, Imperial gold, Stygian iron sword... Daggers, spears etc.**

**5) Back story - in the end, the characters who are put up in the story are mine to choose, and choose I will. Make an interesting back story. Something that will catch my eye and blend in seamlessly with the story line. Do not try and come up with a romantic partner for Sage, as I have plans for her. Did you know that she is my character in 'New Demigods' by Perce123?**

**6) Relationships - This isn't for romantic partners. What are your character's relationships with other people? Does he/she like the Ares campers? Does he/she like the Aphrodite cabin? *Exception: crushes on Sage are allowed. This is only because my friend wants some drama and won't leave me alone. Tell her she wins.**

**7) *Added* Physical appearance - how your character looks.**

**Let me make it clear that I am not looking for tiny little characters who will add no depth into the story. I am looking for deep characters who will make a bigger impact on people throughout the story. They will be to help the flow of the story, not disrupt it. I won't be accepting mindless Mary Sues and I _definitely _will not be accepting all-powerful demigods with no soul. (Definition of Mary Sue in the context of the PJO series).**

**Standard disclaimer applies to this chapter and every other chapter in the story.**

* * *

><p><em>Recap from Chapter 1:<em>

_Sage also noticed that she was almost completely healed. Perhaps he was a son of the death god, but he made her feel more alive. Was this what friendship felt like? If it was, she never wanted to live without it again. It felt nice, having someone as a friend; someone who you could tell everything to without feeling like you ruined their life and the entire thing was based on a lie._

_"None of us want to be at Camp, but we both want to help in the war effort against the Titans, right?" she asked him._

_He hesitated. "Yeah. I suppose."_

_Sage gazed at him sharply. "Not for the gods. It's for the demigods."_

_"I know."_

_Suddenly, she understood. In fact, she had understood all along. The demigods probably treated him like someone who was unworthy of their attention. They were just afraid that he would turn against them because he was a child of Hades. Sage suddenly felt extremely protective of Nico, like a sister would feel for her younger brother._

_"Your heritage means nothing," she told him, looking straight into his eyes. "You don't have to do it for the other demigods. Do it for those who are worth it, Nico. Do it because the Titans are even worse than the gods. Trust me, I'd know."_

_She changed her mind. "Actually, I'm not going to force you into doing it. I'm your friend now and friends don't guilt each other into doing things that they don't believe in."_

_"You're... my friend?" Nico asked cautiously. "How do I know that I can trust you?"_

_"I swear it on the Styx," she affirmed._

_Thunder rumbled up in the air, and Sage was left untouched._

_Nico considered it. "I'll do it anyway. For you."_

_Sage smiled. "Let's go demigod/monster hunting, then."_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2: We Have a Fight<strong>

_**SAGE PIERCE**_

Not long after meeting Nico she realized how long she'd gone without a companion. Actually, it hadn't been long. Sage guessed that she just realized how much she craved friendship; a real friendship that wasn't based on herself feeling guilty. Having a friend was like a fresh breath of air.

Nico was an enigma. There was just something about him that made her relax; something about him told her that she could trust him. He looked to be the quiet type, but in reality he just chose who to open up to. Sage could understand that. After all, wasn't that exactly like herself? At first, she thought that Nico would never understand, with what little he had told her. But later, when he had given her the details... Well, she can't imagine being bitter enough to ask a ghost for help, but she knew that he was young and made mistakes. When you're grief-trodden... well, you don't really think about your actions.

She felt oddly honored that he trusted her enough to talk to her. Sage knew, just from looking at him, that he was not one to openly talk about his feelings. Like herself, he chose to be selectively truthful when answering questions. Knowing that Nico wouldn't filter his speech with her made her extremely happy.

Maybe she could gain others' trust after all...and this time, without having to break it.

"You don't have to do this, you know," Sage told him.

"What? Rescuing campers?" Nico asked.

"Yeah," she said. "I wouldn't blame you if you never wanted anything to do with camp ever again."

He shot her a look that reminded her that despite opening up to her, he wasn't planning on changing his ways for her; he wouldn't accept her pity. But that was the thing... this wasn't pity, nor was it sympathy. It was _empathy, _because she understood what he was going through because she'd been there before.

It wasn't really feeling unwanted by the people she associated with-the opposite, actually. Sage had simply felt out of place. And rightfully so, too. After all, she was the only one who didn't feel the need to fight for a Titan who would only bring the world to its knees. She didn't want power and she didn't want attention. She just wanted normalcy... as normal as life could be for somebody like her. But she also wouldn't delude herself: she had done bad things before-the wrong thing for the right reasons. People like her...well, there weren't many of them in the world. But did that really make her a bad person? A person's motivations should count, right?

Deep inside her heart, she knew she was right. But she also wasn't an idiot; the gods wouldn't think like that.

The two walked towards Camp Half-Blood in a companionable silence.

* * *

><p><em><strong>NICO DIANGELO<strong>_

As they fought off a bunch of dracaena near Camp's borders to defend an unconscious demigod and satyr, Nico couldn't help but think about this mysterious _Sage_ person.

He couldn't seem to figure her out. This slightly unnerved him, as he was usually really good at recognizing other people's hidden motives.

They finished the monsters off and treated the unconscious demigod and his accompanying satyr, but his mind was occupied by the odd daughter of Aphrodite.

And that's when it hit him.

He couldn't seem to recognize her hidden motives because there _weren't _any. She'd told him everything, even though it was quite obvious that she was used to choosing her words carefully to craft responses that were the truth-just not the whole truth. So it was baffling when she just dumped her entire life story on him (granted, he had to swear on the Styx never to repeat a word she said, but still) and seemed to trust him just like that.

There was something off about her. There _had _to be. Nobody was _that _genuine. Not someone who once worked for a Titan.

He voiced his thoughts aloud, which maybe wouldn't have been a good idea, but something told him that if he always held this suspicion without telling her, she'd be upset. It was okay at the moment; she wouldn't expect him to immediately follow along to her every whim.

Sage's back stiffened slightly. When she spoke, her words held a bitter tone that caught him off guard.

"The gods brought it upon themselves. Don't you see it, Nico? They ignore their children and can't be bothered to do anything at all for them, yet they can go down and cozy up to a mortal? There's no way they can do all that and believe that there won't be consequences. The only reason I'm fighting on Olympus's side right now is because there are other demigods out there that shouldn't be suffering for their parents' mistakes. If not, I could easily let the Olympians fall without feeling guilty at all. The mortals are all the same; believing they deserve the world and making outcasts of the people they're afraid of. They're all afraid of change, and that fear leads them to do idiotic things."

She wasn't done. "So do I blame demigods for joining the revolt against the Olympians? No. I never could. I believe that there are people out in the world who have done the wrong things for the right reasons. There aren't many of them out there, but as long as there are some out there, I am fighting for a cause. My loyalty will never lie with the Olympians; I will always be about the greater good. If I believe that I can do the _right _thing for the _right _reasons by defending Olympus, then I will do it."

"So you can't be trusted to always side with the Olympians, then. You'd let the world die if all the other demigods decided to do the same. You'd be a _follower _because demigods no longer followed their parents' ways and decided to revolt?" Nico demanded.

"Nico," Sage replied gently. "Who are you loyal to? Why do you fight for Olympus?"

"I'm loyal to my father, to my friends," Nico said.

"You're father's not an Olympian, though," she pointed out. "He's probably a much better parent than Aphrodite is. He's powerful, and so he's an outcast. People try to deny people who they're afraid of. He'd be considered a threat to Olympus."

"_He's_ a good parent? Are you seriously saying that?" Nico asked bitterly. "He treats me like I'm naive and foolish, like I can't do anything right. He's always liked Bianca better, and he doesn't bother hiding it. He doesn't even try to be a father."

She took his hand comfortingly.

"Nico," Sage said softly. "Maybe he just doesn't know how. You haven't tried taking over the world, you're not insane and you haven't destroyed a country yet. He doesn't understand you; you're an anomaly. He's used to crazily bitter children who have dark souls and darker senses of humor. If you gave him a chance-"

How _dare _she talk like that? She knew absolutely nothing about his father; how cold he was. Just because he wasn't like the myths talked about him didn't mean that he was extremely fond of his son. He barely knew how to be a father. Hades looked down at Nico like he wasn't worth his trouble. And her _tone, _it was so condescending and patronizing and _just like Persephone's _and it gave him a gigantic headache.

All of a sudden, he let go of her hand and exploded. "Stop!"

His anger spurred on, multiplying until he was downright furious. He didn't envy anyone who had to be near him at the moment.

She recoiled. "What?"

"Stop it! Stop acting like you know what I've been through! Stop acting so... so... _knowing_. You know absolutely _nothing _about Hades and how unforgiving he is," Nico yelled angrily. "And _gods_, stop being so patronizing. I don't need a second Persephone."

He willed the shadows to come to him. He had been stupid to think that somebody finally understood him. But instead, he found someone who actually _envied _him, which made him so incredibly frustrated that all he could think to do was _run, run, run_. He always did that. The shadows were always at his disposal, and he always used them to go somewhere else when he felt unbearably lonely-not because nobody was ever near him, but because nobody was like him. Nobody had gone through the same things and nobody thought like he did.

_"Nico..." _Sage said as the shadows seemed to reach out to him. She touched his shoulder, and the shadows slightly inched away from his body. "I'm sorry for acting like that. You didn't deserve it. But I also meant it when I said that things could be different for you and your dad. Try to get closer to him. I think you could be happier if you did. And if you do decide to leave... well, I just hope you decide to visit some day. I know you're angry with me, but... just try. Please."

He wanted to go to the Underworld and never look back, so he did. The shadows came closer to him, wrapping themselves around him.

Sage's silver eyes looked at him sadly, saying a silent goodbye as she took her hand off of his shoulder. As the world slowly faded to black, her words rang repeatedly themselves silently in his mind.

_Just try. Please._

The shadows cleared, and he was in the Underworld again.

* * *

><p><strong><em>SAGE PIERCE<em>**

I'd almost forgotten about the unconscious demigod and satyr.

They were all completely healed-Nico hadn't said anything about them being close to death and he wouldn't have left if they weren't healing...

...Right?

After about five minutes of peering down at them, the satyr jumped up and tried to kick her in the face. Sage dodged quite easily.

"You're tired and you need to rest," she told him. "The dracaena are gone."

"_You_ killed them? On your own?" the satyr asked dubiously.

"I had some help from another demigod, but I took out half of them, yeah," she responded, before narrowing her eyes at him. "Problem?"

The satyr shook his head furiously. "Of course not. Thank you. There were just so many of them..."

Sage nodded. "True. Any idea on who this kid's parent is?" She gestured to the demigod lying on the ground.

"No idea," the satyr said. "Although I'd immediately guess a son of Hades."

Her heart hurt at the mention of a son of Hades. She had just lost a friend of the same parent. If that was true... maybe Nico wouldn't be that alone anymore. Sage rejoiced at the thought, before remembering how lonely _she _truly was. Nico had understood her. But like all good things in her life, he had come and go abruptly, not even allowing her any time to fully register it. It suddenly dawned upon her that she was alone once again.

She hated that feeling, and the brief day with the son of Hades was probably the brightest of her life. The day she felt most alive, even though she'd only known him for a few hours. Sage hoped that she could see him again someday, but she didn't delude herself. There was a very small chance of that happening.

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she studied the boy.

At first, she didn't notice much. But upon closer inspection, she noticed the slightly pale skin; she had dismissed it before because the demigod was injured. But now that his wounds were completely healed, it was quite obvious how pale he was. He seemed to be into the whole 'gothic' thing, really embracing the whole 'death' look.

And yet, she felt a strange warmth coming off of him.

Sage had a hunch about him, but she wouldn't voice it aloud. She might just have found someone who would understand her...

She mentally slapped herself. Thinking like that would only lead to disappointment. After all, people tended to let her down. People like her never got happy endings.

Never.

Sage would have to learn it quickly unless she wanted to sink into a realm of hurt.

After a long moment of silence, she spoke up. "Maybe. But I have this feeling..."

The satyr looked at her questioningly, but at that moment the demigod boy woke up. "Ugh..."

He looked at her imploringly. "Who are you?"

Satyrs can tell if you're lying or not, right? It probably wouldn't be a good idea to lie. So she did what she did best: she told the truth without telling all of it.

"I'm a demigod on a mission," Sage replied smoothly. "You can call me Selene."

Selene was her real name, the name her father had given her when she was born because of her resemblance to the goddess of the hunt and maidens and all things pure. But he had changed it by order of Aphrodite because of her hatred for Artemis.

She turned to the satyr. "Does he know about..."

"Yeah, I know about the gods," the boy replied rather shyly. "I'm a son of _Apollo_." He grit his teeth at the name of the god.

"So I was right then," she mused. "And your name? Do you know where you are?"

"Ashley. Ashley Ryuu," the boy identified as Ashley responded. "I'm fifteen. And yes, I've been in Camp Half-Blood for the last seven or so years and I've never seen you before. I was just out on my own mission, actually."

Sage smiled at him. "Well, I do hope you enjoy Camp Half-Blood." She shot a look at the satyr, as if to say: _Dude, why'd you make me think he was new?_

The satyr looked back at her as if he didn't know either. _I thought he was new too..._

"You're not coming?" Ashley asked, confused.

Her eyes glinted mysteriously. "No. I'm on a mission. By helping you, I completed some of it. I night never see you again, but you never know."

And with that, she turned around and left.

* * *

><p><em><strong>ASHLEY RYUU<strong>_

I went immediately into the Big House after arriving back at camp.

"Well?" Chiron asked kindly. "Have you found anything, child?"

"No," he replied disappointedly. "But there seems to be something off about this Selene person..."

"Who?" Chiron implored. "I've never heard of someone named Selene here in our camp. Can you describe her for me?"

"She had silver eyes and long, black hair. There were like sixteen dracaena after Kole and I, and I think she killed all of them," Ashley told him.

Chiron's eyes widened. "Selene...silver eyes and black hair...No, it's not possible..."

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" he asked.

"I doubt it could be Lady Artemis," Chiron said. "But it could be. But why would she have travelled without her hunters? I will contact her as soon as possible."

For some reason, Ashley felt like he had just betrayed Selene. Why, he didn't know. But something told him that he may have done something really bad.

A feeling of dread settled in his stomach.

It never went away.

* * *

><p><strong>And that's the end of chapter two! Alright, I'm stirring up the plot and things are just beginning to get interesting...<strong>

**Remember that my SYOC is still open at the moment.**

**Stay tuned for my next update and please tell me what you thought of this chapter in reviews! Thanks.**

**~1in100Authors**


	5. Chapter 3

**Okay, here's the thing: I already have many submissions for SYOC. But... I am looking for other characters. And here's the good thing; I'm looking for another race of half-divine beings. That's right... demi-titans! They come later in the story, but I will be accepting exactly TWO submissions so the competition will be really tough. Everyone will have one week to submit their characters before I choose the top two whole will be able to contribute well to the plot.**

**Here's what I'm looking for:**

**1) First and last name**

**2) Titan parent - these Titans can only be Atlas, Oceanus and Hyperion.**

**3) Personality**

**4) Flaws**

**5) Strengths**

**6) Bitter with Olympians or not and why**

**7) Child of Atlas - relationship with Aphrodite/Ares campers  
>Child of Oceanus - relationship with PoseidonZeus campers  
>Child of Hyperion - relationship with ApolloHades campers**

**Let me make it clear that I am not looking for tiny little characters who will add no depth into the story. I am looking for deep characters who will make a bigger impact on people throughout the story. They will be to help the flow of the story, not disrupt it. I won't be accepting mindless Mary Sues and I _definitely _will not be accepting all-powerful demititans with no soul.**

**Standard disclaimer applies to this chapter and every other chapter in the story.**

* * *

><p><em>Recap from Chapter 2:<em>

_**ASHLEY RYUU**_

_I went immediately into the Big House after arriving back at camp._

_"Well?" Chiron asked kindly. "Have you found anything, child?"_

_"No," he replied disappointedly. "But there seems to be something off about this Selene person..."_

_"Who?" Chiron implored. "I've never heard of someone named Selene here in our camp. Can you describe her for me?"_

_"She had silver eyes and long, black hair. There were like sixteen dracaena after Kole and I, and I think she killed all of them," Ashley told him._

_Chiron's eyes widened. "Selene...silver eyes and black hair...No, it's not possible..."_

_"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" he asked._

_"I doubt it could be Lady Artemis," Chiron said. "But it could be. But why would she have travelled without her hunters? I will contact her as soon as possible."_

_For some reason, Ashley felt like he had just betrayed Selene. Why, he didn't know. But something told him that he may have done something really bad._

_A feeling of dread settled in his stomach._

_It never went away._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3: I Meet The Hunters<strong>

_**SAGE PIERCE**_

She didn't know what to expect when she heard a bunch of Cyclopes' growls.

What she definitely _didn't _expect, however, was a group of girls dressed in silver fighting it mercilessly.

_The Hunters of Artemis_, Sage realized.

She loved those girls. They went around killing monsters and saving maidens from heartbreak before empowering them and turning them into amazingly skilled fighters. Their mistress - Artemis, obviously - was in the form of a twelve year old girl but it was obvious to her who she actually was. After all, she was named after her (or a version of her, anyway) and I'd always admired what she did. If there was any Olympian who could be my parent, Sage would have wanted it to be her... unfortunately, she was a virgin goddess. But Athena was a virgin and she had children of thought... so why couldn't Artemis have children of spirit or something?

Sage really wished she could have been Artemis's daughter.

One of the Cyclopes was sneaking up on one of the huntresses. Just before it got to her, Sage slashed right through its body and it exploded into golden dust.

The huntress looked behind her, wide-eyed when she noticed the golden ichor on the ground. She shot Sage a grateful look before going back to her task.

Slaying a few more Cyclopes, Sage decided to work around the huntresses as not to accidentally kill one of them.

She grunted as a Cyclops was able to nick her on the arm and hissed when she was kicked on her leg. Narrowing her eyes, Sage projected a steady stream of fear into the Cyclops. As it was paralyzed, she easily killed it and began doing the same to all the other Cyclopes in the area. They were all taken out very quickly.

She didn't know what had come over her. The last time she used her power, a few years ago, she had blacked out for a few hours - and that was only on one monster. Now, Sage was able to do the same thing to an army of Cyclops without breaking a sweat. What had caused the change in her?

Shaking out of her trance, she noticed that all the huntresses were looking at her. "What?"

The twelve year old girl approached her, and she immediately went down on her knees.

"Lady Artemis," Sage said respectfully.

"Rise, child," Artemis said kindly. "Tell me, how were you able to find us? Usually we are undisturbed when hunting. However, I must thank you. If not for you, one of my huntresses may have died."

Sage smiled. "It was nothing, my lady. As for your question: I am not quite sure. I simply heard the noise and came to investigate."

"Why are you not at Camp Half-Blood?" the goddess inquired. "Or were you searching and got lost?"

"I am on a mission," Sage answered.

Artemis nodded. "I see. And your name?"

"My name is Selene," she replied. "Selene Pierce."

Artemis raised her eyebrows. "So it was you who Chiron was speaking about. He had told me something about a girl named Selene that looked similar to me."

"Really?" Sage asked. "Chiron told you about me because of my resemblance to you?"

Artemis narrowed her eyes. "No. He told me about you because he had never seen you in Camp before and he thought that you were me. Apparently, there was an incident with several dracaena near the border of Camp Half-Blood."

Sage nodded. "That figures. So Ashley probably told him... interesting."

Should she tell Artemis what was really going on? She was a goddess, so that might not be the brightest idea. Then again, this was Artemis she was talking about. Artemis was, after all, one of the most logical of the Olympians and one of the only Olympians she respected. Sage could, of course, choose not to tell her anything and give an excuse to leave. However, there were some things she wanted to talk with Artemis about and that was to praise her on what she was doing. While she would never join the Hunt - she could never bring herself to hate every man just for being born a man - Sage thought it would be cool to talk to the goddess. She doubted that anyone had actually tried to ask her what it was like and tell her how much she appreciated what she was doing for women of all races, divine blood or not. It didn't matter to Artemis, which was what Sage liked about her.

Artemis looked at her quizzically and studied her, looking for possible indicators of nervousness or anxiety. She found none.

_Screw it,_ Sage thought. _She knows something's up. Might as well tell her._

"Lady Artemis," she said. "Can I talk to you privately?"

Artemis hesitated for a moment before nodding. "I don't see why not."

The two walked into a clearing by a lake, and Sage began talking.

"I need you to swear upon the River Styx to never repeat anything I'm about to say to anyone. This is incredibly important," Sage said.

Artemis pursed her lips. "I swear upon the River Styx to keep this conversation to myself."

She nodded. "It all started years ago..."

* * *

><p>Around twenty minutes after, Sage finished her tale.<p>

She told Artemis about her past and how she had been sold to Kronos and lied to. She told her about leaving and cursing Kronos as well as killing off a large part of the Titan army. Sage talked about her encounter with Nico vaguely without giving away any of his secrets and she talked about hating most of the Olympian council for being overly conceited and allowing it to cloud their judgment. She also explained being given the name 'Selene' before having it changed to 'Sage' by her mother because she didn't want her daughter to be named after the moon goddess. Then she talked about rescuing demigods from monsters whenever possible.

Artemis seemed to absorb this information and processed it quickly, never interrupting Sage and letting her speak.

"That's quite an interesting story," Artemis commented. "Though I do not understand why you would volunteer this information to _me,_ your mother's rival."

Sage just laughed. "You're more of a mother to me than Aphrodite is. She'd probably choose a trip to a nail salon over talking to me. It's funny, really, how Aphrodite's the goddess of love and yet her rival is the one with real friends who she cares for like her children. Really, Lady Artemis, you probably have much more love inside you than my mother does."

"Oh?" Artemis asked.

"Yeah," Sage said. "In fact, I first hoped that you were my mother. After seeing my appearance and all, I thought that it might not have been such a far-fetched idea. After all, Lady Athena can have children of thought. I figured that there would be some way for you to have one. It was wishful, I know, but I was a little kid back then."

Artemis looked surprised. "You would rather have me as a mother in place of Aphrodite?"

"Well, duh," she replied easily. "She has so many children that I doubt she even remembers my name. And the fact that so many of them are so close in age..."

Both of them shuddered. They didn't even want to think about that.

"Nobody has ever told me that they would have wanted me as a mother," Artemis told Sage. "It is... an odd but not unwelcome feeling."

Sage raised an eyebrow at her. "Then I bet they haven't talked to you about the whole Hunters thing, either."

"What Hunters thing? What would they have to say about that?" Artemis's voice suddenly turned rather steely.

"Aren't gods supposed to be all arrogant and stuff?" Sage asked. "I swear, you're a mystical anomaly."

The look she received told her to start talking.

"Your kindness is astounding," Sage said. "You empower girls who have been hurt by men and show them that they can become fierce hunters. You give them a home, a family and a future of doing good. You save innocent maidens and you actually do your job. You show girls their true worth and hold them in high esteem, encouraging them to become better and even fiercer warriors. You don't discriminate and allow mortals, demigods, nymphs and other creatures alike to join the Hunt as long as they swear to remain virgins. I'm almost sure that some girls are staying maidens just to become a part of the hunt. I wouldn't be surprised if they did. And yet, despite all that, you act like you're unaware of how important you are to women. You're pretty much the definition of a radical feminist and even with all the things you've done, you haven't become arrogant and conceited. You act like a normal person and you don't act like some superior being just because you're a goddess. How have you overlooked all this?"

Artemis looked appalled, like she never thought of what Sage had just said. "No... I have never thought of it that way. I was simply doing my duty."

"It would have been so awesome to be the daughter of the goddess of the hunt and all things pure," Sage sighed. "But no, I get _Aphrodite_, goddess of all things _shallow_."

"Well..." Artemis looked thoughtful.

"What?" Sage asked.

"I could make you a Hunter," Artemis offered. "You would be a great addition to my huntresses."

"Thanks, but no thanks," she smiled. "While being a huntress would be great, I just can't bring myself to hate men for being born a certain gender. I'll admit that I dislike a lot of them, but I won't judge based on what I've seen before. I'd rather make my judgments after getting to know someone."

Artemis looked disappointed. "That is quite unfortunate. The other huntresses would have loved you..."

Sage smiled sadly. "I guess I'll leave now. I'm trying to help as many demigods as possible on their way to Camp. They need as many soldiers as they can get at this point."

Suddenly, Artemis's eyes brightened. "I don't know why I didn't think of it before!"

"What?" she asked.

"I could be your patron," Artemis offered. "I always wanted someone to represent me at Camp Half-Blood."

"That'd be great," Sage agreed.

Artemis touched a finger to Sage's forehead and mumbled something under her breath.

All of a sudden, Sage felt like she could sense the wild around her. She could feel the feelings of each animal, and the wind relaxed her. She felt incredible, like she was right where she belonged. Sage felt like a child once again, filled with giddiness just being in the forest. Then she felt her senses sharpening, and she felt like she was looking at the world for the first time in her life.

Then she noticed her hair changing color. It went from a blue black to a pitch black, and her skin became slightly more tan.

Artemis lifted her finger off. "Now you will have my abilities to some extent, greater than any of my huntresses'. It will be as if you were my daughter."

She handed Sage a silver bracelet with three charms on it: one of a wolf, another of a knife, and the final of a bow. "Touch any of the charms and you will be able to summon them. The wolf is a gift to you. She will be your pet. The others are weapons. The bow comes with a quiver that never runs out of arrows. You do not have immortality like my huntresses, but you do not have to remain a maiden and you do not need to leave the company of males. You are a daughter of Aphrodite, and love runs in your blood. Do not be ashamed of it. Embrace it, as it is the part of you that will be most important in the later years of your life."

"No way," Sage growled. "I will never accept any part of me given to me by _her_."

Artemis laughed. "You are not a daughter of love anymore, Sage. You are now just as much my daughter as you are hers. You, Sage Pierce, are the daughter of love, beauty, purity, maidens, childbirth, the moon, and the hunt. You are the paragon of _pure _love, a love that is untouched by lust. You are _true_ beauty, the beauty that lives inside you. There is nothing wrong with falling in love, my dear. But first, you must practice a different type of love: the ability to love yourself. Accept yourself as you are and do not burden yourself with your past unnecessarily. I believe that you will later understand what you have become with time. Just know this, Sage... you are one of a kind. I have never favored a demigod before without taking them out of the equation... and that makes you dangerous. You will understand soon."

She turned around and started walking back to where her Hunters were.

"Mother, wait!" Sage called, before immediately slapping her hand over her mouth.

Artemis gasped in shock. "Did you just call me mother?"

"Sorry," Sage apologized. "It just slipped out."

Artemis smiled. "I was only surprised, that's all. I'd love it if you called me your mother."

"Anyway," Sage said. "I was wondering if you wanted me to go by Selene now."

The goddess shook her head. "I have already taken much from Aphrodite. I will allow her to keep at least that."

"Alright," Sage said. "I believe that I'll be going to Camp Half-Blood after the war. Should I call myself a daughter of Aphrodite or a daughter of Artemis?"

Artemis smirked. "Whoever claims you first, of course."

She nodded at the goddess.

"Come," Artemis said. "Let's get you acquainted with my huntresses."

* * *

><p>The Hunters of Artemis were awesome.<p>

Not only did they welcome her like their own, but they took Sage's story in stride - she had told them to swear on the Styx before telling them about her past - and they understood her.

If it weren't for the whole hating men thing, Sage wouldn't have hesitated when asked to join the Hunters. She had explained her reasons for not immediately hating men, as she believed in getting to know someone before passing judgment on them. It was something she learned the hard way... something she learned about her father after immediately taking him for a good person. But Sage also knew that it didn't always work that way. She had met Nico and learned a lot about him.

Sage winced. Thinking about Nico still hurt, especially because of the way they went their separate ways.

She really did miss him.

Sighing, Sage went on her way after saying goodbye with the huntresses.

As she trudged onwards to Camp, Sage silently pondered Artemis's words.

_You are one of a kind. I have never favored a demigod before without taking them out of the equation... and that makes you dangerous._

Why was she dangerous? She was only a bitter daughter of Aphrodite with a knack for combat.

_But,_ another voice inside of her said, _you also have the powers of Artemis as well._

A demigod is a mortal with the genetic make-up of 50% god and 50% mortal. But when Artemis gave her powers, did that make her a full goddess?

No, Sage decided. Artemis only gave her extra powers and didn't make any alterations on her original genetic make-up.

Sage had read somewhere that the gods had extremely large souls in order to reign in their power. These souls would be a god's true form; pure power. But a demigod's soul was much smaller, because it needed to keep a hold on a smaller amount of power. And compared to a demigod's soul, a mortal's soul was like a fly on the wall. If this reasoning was true, then her soul hadn't been condensed to fit in another side of her; her soul had enlarged to hold her new power.

She was brought out of her thoughts as shadows surrounded the area and a familiar boy emerged from them.

"Nico!" Sage exclaimed, running up to him and giving him a hug. "Gods, I missed you."

She pulled away, noticing his serious expression. "What's wrong?"

Nico scanned her up and down as if looking for changes in her. "I felt a disturbance in the Underworld. Dad felt it too, and so he sent me to come investigate."

"A disturbance?" Sage asked, confused. "What kind of disturbance?"

"Usually when a demigod becomes another god or goddess's champion, nothing happens. But because a goddess decided to give you the amount of power you would have if you were her daughter, it showed up in my dad's monitors because it was suspicious. Now, there's nothing wrong with that. But when that happened and dad took a closer look, he noticed that you weren't aging," Nico explained. "Sage, you're stuck in time. You've been stuck in time for months now."

Her eyes widened. "How is that possible?"

"I don't know," Nico replied, shaking his head. "But we have to figure it out... unless you plan on being thirteen forever."

Sage had to agree. She definitely did not want to be stuck as a thirteen year old.

"Wait," Sage said.

Nico raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Do you know the exact date that I stopped aging?" Sage asked.

She had this hunch...

"I believe it was February 14th, around four months ago," he informed her.

Her eyes widened as she realized what she had done... and immediately cracked up. The situation was just so hilarious that she couldn't hold in her laughter. _Around four months ago... February the 14th... _It was much too good to be true. Sage didn't even think it was possible.

Nico looked at her weirdly.

Just looking at his expression made her collapse into another round of giggles. "Oh, gosh! And the look on your face..."

"I can't believe I did that," Sage said, shaking her head. "That's amazing."

Nico sighed. "What's this all about?"

"You see, Nico..." Sage began. "Around four months ago, on February 14th, on Valentine's Day, I escaped from the Titan Army base. I may or may not have cursed Kronos on that fateful day to death. And I was just thinking about how generous of a Valentine's Day gift I had given him..."

"Is there more to this story?" Nico interrupted. "Because I'm starting to question your sense of humor."

"Oh, gods forbid that you do!" Sage said dramatically. "I was feeling particularly mischievous that day, and I may or may not have got a portion of the Titan Lord's army killed off by charm-speaking them into chopping up the Titan Hyperion's loincloths..."

By now both of us were laughing crazily. "Oh, gosh..."

"Wow, Sage... I don't... That's just... wow," Nico said.

"I missed you," Sage said quietly. "I didn't think I'd ever get to see you again."

Nico stayed silent, and Sage turned to face him.

"Gods, Nico. I thought you were going to hate me forever," she said, looking down. "I just... I didn't think that..."

She sighed. "I'm sorry, Nico."

"It's alright," Nico finally replied. "I was out of line as well. So what happened to that new demigod?"

"Apparently he wasn't new. He was just on a mission," Sage told him. "And about the whole not aging thing... I have a feeling that it's related to the fact that I cursed him."

"Maybe," Nico agreed. "It's late. Let's go to sleep."

She looked up at the sky, noticing just now that it had turned dark. It felt only like a few minutes. It seemed that time always passed by quickly when she was with Nico. Why? She didn't know. And she honestly didn't want to put too much thought to it.

"Alright," Sage agreed.

Something silver on her wrist caught her eye.

Her bracelet now had a small silver tent charm on it. She pressed the button.

A small tent big enough for two people immediately popped up right in front of them.

"Whoa," Nico said. "That's awesome."

"Yeah," Sage agreed. She went inside and he followed suit.

Inside was much, much bigger; a completely furnished home with three separate bedrooms with bathrooms attached to them, a kitchen, and a living room... it was exactly like Sage's dream house. Not too big and not too small, all in a tiny bracelet charm. She was starting to really like this whole 'champion' thing. Not like she didn't before, but...

Nico whistled appreciatively. "Your patron really knows how to live."

Sage laughed. "Yeah. I guess she does."

A yellow note on one of the couches in the living room caught her eye.

_Only people you let in will be able to enter. This is yours to keep. There is also a room inside the master bedroom - which is yours - for your pet wolf. I'll let you name her._

Sage decided that she really loved her mother.

"Alright, we can marvel at this later," Nico said before yawning. "Let's go to sleep."

She headed to her midnight forest-themed room and pointed Nico over to a dark green one.

Sage passed out immediately after hitting the soft, king-sized bed.

* * *

><p><em>Kronos grumbled angrily. "The blasted girl... it's because of her that the idiotic boy ran away. Now what do I do?"<em>

What was going on? Sage didn't understand what she was seeing. She gasped as she saw a beautiful yet horrifying scythe, which was glowing with a slightly blue hue.

_"I see..." Kronos mumbled. "Yes, I will go back and change things."_

What? Change what?

_"The girl will never have been able to interfere... because she never would have existed!"_

* * *

><p><strong>Yes, I'm being one of 'those' writers right now. I know it's getting much more complicated now, and I figured that I'd give you guys a reprieve before a constant onslaught of problems and drama and all that good stuff.<strong>

**This is definitely not a filler chapter. In fact, this helps build the story much more than the other two... you'll understand it in time.**

**AS OF 2/10/15 I have updated ALL chapters in Keeper of Time to adjust minor details that make big differences. Some are just minor grammatical mistakes or spelling mistakes, while others are of much more importance so I do suggest that you re-read the entire story including the introduction.**

**~1in100Authors**


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